Mississippi holds
annual tax lien sales in August.
Properties that are not purchased
at the annual sale are forfeited
or matured to the State if not
redeemed during the two year
redemption period. These
“sold-to-state” properties are
available with the chancery clerk.

The applicant must
first file an application with all
of the necessary information
complete and the filing fee
included. The Secretary of State's
Office then contacts the county
tax assessor for a current market
value of the property and makes an
investigation of the title. Once
the tax assessor value is
received, a recommendation of the
offer price is made to the
Governor's Office. Upon receipt of
the Governor's approval, an offer
letter is sent to the applicant.
If the purchase money is paid by
the applicant, a patent (or deed)
is prepared, signed by the
Governor and the Secretary of
State, and sent to the applicant
for filing in the chancery clerk's
office.

The process
normally takes about 90 to 120
days from receipt of the
application to the issuance of the
patent.
The state’s tax-forfeited property
is customarily offered to the
applicant at 50% of the current
market value. The market value is
determined by the tax assessor’s
office in the county in which the
property is located. The offer
price may vary, depending on the
condition of the property.

If the property is
blighted, it may be offered at 25%
of the value. Percentage
estimations are compared to the
amount of the back taxes through
the current year. All offers made
by the applicants are considered
as well. Whichever of the amounts
is greater is the amount for which
the State will set the offer.

The application
process will take a minimum of
60-90 days. For mail-in filings,
the process is a paper process.
Only status inquiries are handled
over the telephone. All other
processing is done in writing.
However, with online filings, you
may elect to receive paper or
electronic correspondence at the
time of your filing.

The following are
ineligible to purchase
tax-forfeited lands:

1.Corporations
(except a banking corporation
holding a mortgage or deed of
trust on the tax-forfeited parcel
at the time it matured to the
state, which mortgage is still in
force and effect).

2.Nonresident
aliens may not purchase more than
320 acres for industrial purposes
and 5 acres for residential
purposes.

3.Associations
composed in whole or in part of
nonresident aliens.

4.Persons
who have purchased 160 acres of
tax-forfeited lands in the year in
which the current application is
made. (See Rule IV B. 2 for
exceptions to this restriction.)